The picture illustrates the cycle of life of the salmon.
Overall, the ongoing process comprises three main stages, each of which the fish change significantly in terms of their appearance due to different living environments.
The process begins with salmon eggs being laid under small stones and reeds in the slow-moving upper river. After about five to six months, small fish called fry hatch through the eggs and gradually grow to between 3 to 8 cm in length, before moving down to the lower river with a faster current and spending around four years living here.
The process continues with the fry developing and turning into smolt, nearly doubling its original size (up to 15 cm long) and leaving the river for the open sea. The fish then spends around 5 years in this new salty environment to fully grow into adult salmon, which is nearly ten times its original size (from 70 to 76 cm) with characteristic shape and colour. The process repeats when these fully-grown fish move back to the upper river and lay eggs again.
